Wrench.



l. FONES.

WRENCH.

mfucATloN FILED JULY 9.17918.

Patented Apr. 29, 1919.

@NI ED STATES JOHN H. FONES, 0F OAKLAND, C tlliIIEOIRINIA.y

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten npr. aa, raie.

4applicativa mea July 9, 191s. serial No. 244,048.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. FoNEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in Wrenches, and the object of the invention is to provide a wrench which can be easily and quickly adjusted to lit any size of nut or bolt and which, when adjusted, can be clamped around the nut or bolt and at the same time be securely locked in its clamping position against accidental release therefrom.

I have herein shown my improvement as applied to a nut wrench, but it is evident that it can, with obvious changes in form, be also applied to a pipe wrench.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 isV a side view of my improved nut wrench; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figs. 1, 3'; Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional view on the line 3-.3 of Fig. 1 Fig. 4 is a broken side view of a modified form of wrench; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 of said modified form.

Y Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a jaw, which I shall hereinafter term the stationary jaw, of the wrench, formed integral with a stem or handle 2. Upon said stem can slide a jaw carrier 3 carrying a jaw 4,

said jaws 1, 4, having faces 5 extending transversely of the stem so as to be capable of engaging opposite sides of a nut. The

jaw carrier 3 is formed with a longitudinally extending and substantially rectangular aperture 10 in which can slide the stem 2, and atthe side of said aperture remote from the jaw 4 arel two holes 6 in the carrler 1n which are recelved pms 7 screwed into one face 8 `of a prismatic bar or retainer 9. The other faces 11 of said retainer are formed with ribs or corrugations 12 extend-M ing in planes transverse. to the bar, and the portion of the prismatlc bar remote from the pins 7- is received within a V-shaped groove 13 extending longitudinally in a side of the stem y.2 remote from the jaw 1, the

- faces of said groove being formed Vwith ribs or corrugationsA 14 extending in planes transverse to the generalV direction of the stem and engaging the ribs orcorrugations 12 in the faces 11 ofthebar to prevent longitudinal movement YIolf said bar lin said groove when it ispressed -firmlyzthereinto In applying they wrenchto a nut, the carrier is slid on the stemuntil the lfaces 5,of the jaws 1, 4, engage opposite sidesof the nut, and then the carrier is caused to still further advance upon the stem andbeat the same time locked in` a position by turning a screw 16 contained in a recessed portion of the carrier and rotatable about a shaft v saidscrew is turned in theproper direction about the shaft 17, the engagementof the screw, with' the threads of therack causes 17 threadedrat its forward end, as shown at 18, extending through a hole in a portion 19 of said lcarrier to the rear of. saidscrew,

the jaw to advance slightly, namely, about one-half ofthe distance between successive threads. The diameter ofthe screw 16'and the positions ,of the shaft 17 relativelylto the stem 2 and lscrew 16 are such that, when the screw is turned so that the portion of its periphery nearest to the shaft4 17 lies between said shafty and the stemv 2,the `carrier can slide freely uponthestem, and there? fore the screwv must be in `such a position to permitthe rapid adjustment of the jaw 4 on the stem to properly engage the nut. When this adjustment has been made, however, and the screw is turned not more than one-half of a turn, a portion of theperiphery of the screw at, or near that at, the

greatest' distance from the shaft, engages the threads of the rack. This operation moves the shaft away from the rack, vand thereby presses the corrugated faces of the bar 9 into engagement with the corrugated faces of the groove 13, and thus prevents slipping of the carrier upon the stem. It is important that the screw be resiliently held in a central position between the ends of the recessed portion of the carrier. .For this purpose there are formed in the faces of the carrier adjacent to the ends of the screw, sockets in which are received short strong coiled springs 21, the outer ends of which press against the ends of said screw. The following is the reason for theprovision of springs at opposite ends of the screw, which resiliently hold the screw in a central position in they recessed portion of the carrier. When the threads of the screw engage the teeth of the rack 15, and the screw is turned on `its axis, the screw by reason of its inherent. property, must move longitudinally throu h a slight dista-nce as well as rotatably. ut itl is necessary that it should be capable of rotating, in order to produce a ribs 14. `But this engagement of the ribs 412 with the ribs 14 prevents the carrier 3 .from moving longitudinally upon the Stem 2.

Since the carrier 3 is held from longitudi- Y nalA movement, while it is necessary that the `screw 16 should have a longitudinal movement at the same time, it follows that the screw 16 must be normally held in a central ,position within the recess of the jaw 3 and must be capable of moving to either end of said recess according to the direction to which the screw 16 is turned. p, W'hile this :longitudinal movement of the screw 16 is but small, itis necessary that there should be this longitudinal movement. It is therefore necessary to provide springs at the ends `of the screw k16, which normally hold it in attempted to turn the screw 16 in the direction which, on accounto-f the engagement of they threads of said screw with the rack 15, would cause the screw 16 to advance to the end toward which it was already pressed by i the spring, this could not be done, because Y it is already in contact with said end, and the carrier 3 is prevented from moving longitudinally in the direction which would permit of the desired longitudinal movement of the screw 1,6 by reason of the engagement of the ribs 12 with the ribs 14.

Evidently the jaw 4 is removed.v from its clamping position as easily as it is moved thereto, this being done by giving the screw a, half-turn so as to remove the shaft toward the rack and then sliding the carrier upon the stem.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 4, 5, the stem of the wrench is formed on each side with an undercut portion 22 having transversely extending notches or corrugation 23, and the carrier isforined on each side with an undercut portion 24 having notches o-r corrugations 26 engaging the corrugations`28." The operation of this form of the invention is precisely the same as that first described.

The bar 9, which, on account of the pin 7 being received in the hole 6 of the carrier is longitudinally stationary relative to the carrier, may be considered as a removable portion of the carrier. Y 1

y I claim 1. A wrench having a stein having a longitudinally. extending rack, a stationary jaw Y on said stem, a carrier movable on said stem,

a jaw carried by said carrier, a longitudinally extending shaft carried by said carrier, a screw eccentrically rotatable on said proper engagement of the ribs 12 with the shaft and adapted in one position on-said shaft to engage said rack and in another position being free from said rack, and means for yieldingly maintaining said screw in a central position lengthwise of said shaft,

said means functionally opposing the turning movement of said screw.

2. A wrench having a stem and a stationary jaw thereon, said stein having a longitudinally ex-tending rack, a carrier, and a jaw carried thereby, a longitudinally extending shaft carried by said carrier, and ai screw eccentrically rotatable on said shaft and adapted in one position on said shaft to engage said rack and in another position being free from said rack, and frictional `means for preventing the turning of the screw `on its shaft, comprising coiled vsprings at opposite ends of the screw, ofk each of which one end is contained in a socket in the carrier, and the other end engages said A screw.

3. A wrench having astem and, a stationary Jaw thereon, said stein having a longitudinally extending rack, a carrier, and a Jaw carried thereby, a longitudinally extending shaft carried by said carrier, and

a screw eccentrically rotatable on said shaft and adapted in one position on said shaft to engage said rack and in another position being free from said rack and frictional means for preventing the turning of the screw on its shaft, comprising pairs of coiled springs at opposite ends of the screw, one endof each spring Abeing contained in a socket in a portion of the carrier adjacent to the ad- `jacent end of said screw, and the other end engaging said screw end, Y

4. A wrench having a stem and a stationary jaw thereon, said stem having a longitudinally extending rack, a carrier and a jaw carried thereby, a` longitudinally extending shaft carried by said carrier, a screw rugations adapted to engage each other and eceentrioally rotatable on said shaft and prevent longitudinal movement of the oarl0 adapted in one position on sald shaft to enrier on the stern When the screw is turned `gage said rack and in another position being on its shaft, the carrier having holes, and

free from said rack, said carrier having a rethe removable portion having pins removmovable portion longitudinally stationary ably contained in said holes.

in regard to the carrier, said stem and removable portion of the carrier having cor- J. H. FONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

